One Unhappy Birthday
by SuperSonicDragon
Summary: Peach is turning 26 but it's not a happy occasion. This threat is more than a midlife crisis. I fixed the paragraphs! Please read and review! Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Note: I remade the whole story and completed it. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Mario.**

**Chapter 1: Princess Peach is unhappy? Mystery behind the unknown suicide!**

Princess Peach was a princess who had it all. She had the plentiful fortune of the Mushroom Kingdom dangling at her fingers, loyal subjects by her side and held vast beauty in her magnificent skin. Yet with all she had many times she would be kidnapped by Bowser of the Koopa Kingdom and recently she was a target of an organization called the X-nauts. Her hero, Mario, would save her without fail each time not knowing that his sweet innocent princess was more than she seemed. The time had come for the real princess to show herself.

It was a quiet night inside the magnificent grey castle that belonged to Peach. To her it was another sleepless night in her large pink bed. Most of her body hidden by the pink sheets, only her head, hair in an awful long tangle of mess, and half of her fingers peered over them, almost like a small child looking over a box taller than she, standing on the balls of her feet. Tomorrow it would be her birthday. Her last birthday as she saw it. It was that day when she would be 25 and the world would end. She turned on her left to shed a tear while thinking back to when she was a young girl. In this same castle she played and frolicked by the trees when she was a child and one day when she came to those large double doors of the castle, ready to come inside after a long day of climbing trees and chasing butterflies her parents grimly opened the door. "My daughter, we have something to tell you." Her father started. It turns out Princess Peach was going to become Shadow Queen's body when she turned 25. Shadow Queen was an ancient spirit from another world bent on ruling ours but she was sealed away. The body she used to first exist in this world was one of Peach's ancestors but the Queen vowed she would return and take one of her children's pure heart as her own body. Peach knew she would be the child. It was just over four months ago when the whole adventure in Rogueport happened but she knew when the Queen was sealed again it wouldn't last as long this time. The door was still weakening and at a faster rate. Only she and Goombella, one of Mario's partners in his last adventure, knew the truth but Goombella kept it a secret on Peach's request. Peach's worries exhausted her and put her to a shallow sleep. Goombella asked what she could do to stop it but Peach knew nothing would work. Mario and his friends barely defeated the Queen last time but only with the help of the Crystal Stars. The sad thing is the Queen hadn't adapted to the world yet but once she is released she'll learn how to manipulate it to give her the God-like power she used to destroy her home world. Peach decided to live her life the best she could with Mario, knowing that the world would end on her 25th birthday.

Morning came and Peach was awoken by her loyal servant, Toadsworth, opening the door to her room. "Princess, is everything okay?" He asked, barely peeking through the door in case Peach was changing. "I heard noises from your room." Peach got up to find she was sleeping on the floor. She looked at her ruffled bed and deduced she fell off of it while she was asleep. "Nothing is wrong." Peach answered quietly. Toadsworth reluctantly closed the door to leave his princess. "Nothing is wrong?" A voice repeated. Peach looked toward the large window/door that led to the balcony and saw Bedlam in front of the open door. "You sure are in love with that Mario guy. You shouted his name all night before you tumbled off the bed." She said with a snicker. Peach looked at her with contempt and said. "You've got nothing to do but stalk me now?" Peach said this with as much authority as she could, despite her unkempt appearance (Messy hair and night gown.). Bedlam simply answered, "I've got to watch my queen's new host. If you die, things will go pretty bad." "If I die, huh?" Peach reached beneath her bed for a dagger. Bedlam looked stern. Peach took the blade out of its brown scabbard and held it to her throat before Bedlam could stop her. The dagger gleamed in happiness. All it wanted to do was shed blood. "I didn't want it to come to this but I'll kill myself to stop this. Why sacrifice the world to prolong my life a couple hours?" Peach said smiling. "No! What are you doing? Think about your precious kingdom! Your Mario!" Bedlam yelled as she rushed toward Peach but before she could touch her Peach thrust the dagger inside her throat. "Darn" Bedlam muttered as Peach collapsed to the floor, lifeless. She opened her mouth for one last sentence. "They will be safe…" Blood ran from her mouth and the cut in her throat into a small pool in front of her. "Princess?" Toadsworth's voice was heard behind the door. Bedlam disappeared into a shadow hole beneath her, leaving Toadsworth with only the lifeless body that was once a great princess. "Princess!" Toadsworth yelled as he saw his princess. "No." He sat beside her and cried softly.

It was a day later. It was raining. There was a funeral in front of the castle for Peach. Her coffin was already placed in a six foot hole and four toads were using shovels to bury it in the muddy dirt. Mario and Luigi were among a crowd of toads who were watching the event with mourn. "Why did she do this?" Luigi asked Mario. "It seems she killed herself but why?" Mario just held his head down. "If only we knew…" At the Mario Bros. little house it was now night. Luigi was on his top bunk, snoring loudly while poor Mario was held awake. _Why did she kill herself_, Mario thought, she_ seemed so happy and smiling. _Mario thought back to just a couple days ago when he and Peach enjoyed themselves at a small carnival in Toad Town. "Mario," Peach had said to him back then. "You're one of the best people I've ever met. If something happens don't forget me but live happily." Mario had always wondered what that meant but now he was too late. "Why Peach? Why?" He said to himself as he turned on his side and cried softly even though you couldn't hear it over Luigi's snoring.

In the sewers under Rogueport, inside the Thousand-Year Door, Bedlam was inside the deepest chamber, where the Shadow Queen's grave lied. "My Queen, your body…has died." Bedlam hesitantly said. They didn't predict that Peach would kill herself, especially with Mario around. "It doesn't matter, my loyal servant. It only prolongs my arrival just a bit." A voice echoed throughout the chamber, shaking dust from the old bricks. Bedlam smiled and cackled with her evil Queen once the room settled. "Time for phase 1. Get Vivian."

Mario unenthusiastically hopped out of his bed and changed into his trademark overalls and red shirt with his famous red cap. Mario was a hero for the ages yet all of his skills couldn't save her, the princess. He sighed as he sadly walked into the kitchen. "I still can't believe she's dead." He muttered to Luigi, his not so famous brother. "Me neither, she seemed so happy." Luigi agreed. "Yeah, I just think it's my fault for not noticing- for not being there." Mario said with a head hung low. Luigi could hear quiet sobbing from his older brother. Luigi had not been as close to Peach as Mario. Whenever Peach needed help it was Mario to the rescue. No matter what the odds were Mario was always to her aide. So Luigi was there for a few parties but it was Mario who was the closest to her, her only hope who she could not let die. Luigi wanted to feel what Mario was feeling but he couldn't- he was Peach's _friend_, not close friend but friend. All Luigi could do at her funeral was shed a few tears, that was all he felt. "Mario," Luigi wanted to say but the voice wasn't his; it belonged to someone behind him. The brothers looked to the back of the kitchen to see something that startled them. Princess Peach stood standing by the door. "Peach!" Both the brothers yelled. "How are you alive?" Mario and Luigi simultaneously stammered. Peach just made a giggle and gestured them to follow her as she faded through the door. "A _ghost_!" The thought went through both the brother's heads. Luigi was suddenly overcome with fear. _Peach is now a ghost! But she's a good ghost right, _Luigi tried to quench his fear. He was deathly afraid of ghosts, unlike his famous brother. Once he had gotten out of his trance Luigi noticed Mario was already through the door. "Wait up!" Luigi yelled, running after his brother.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Peach is a ghost? Trail up the Heavenly light!**

As Peach wandered through the streets of Toad Town may of the Toads who saw here either fainted or stood paralyzed with fear. Mario was trying to invoke conversation but Peach would just smile at Mario and giggle. "Peach, what is wrong with you?" Mario whispered under his breath. Luigi finally caught up as the Peach ghost faded through the giant blue doors that lead to her magnificent castle (The exterior.). Luigi panted heavily and tried to catch his breath but Mario was already through the door. "What?" Luigi waved his arms in an annoyed gesture. "I shouldn't have quit my gym membership." Mario followed the spectre as she stealthily moved past her castle toward the path to Shooting Star Summit. _Where is she taking me_, Mario thought as he and Peach passed the castle and ended up on the path to the small mountain. Stars fell around them but both Mario and Peach didn't flinch when a star landed in front of them with a loud crash. _Mario, don't do this, _a voice wanted to say, _don't wish me alive. _Mario felt this voice but just thought of it as just the wind on the grass. He and Peach climbed Shooting Star Summit without much effort. As Mario passed a star he wished he knew what Peach was doing. Why was she leading him to Shooting Star Summit? It wouldn't make much of a romantic picnic with the rain of stars. Another falling star crashed into the ground by Mario, shooting up dirt on his clothes. "Peach, why are we here?" Mario barked when they finally reached the top. The ghost walked toward Mario and took its cold, smooth hands around Mario's face and gently kissed him. _Talk to the stars, _Peach's voice said. _Wish me back. _Mario was shocked at this.

"Why did you kill yourself if you-" He was cut off by another kiss. When the ghost's lips left Mario's he felt different. "It doesn't matter." He muttered. "I will revive you no matter what. I can't live without you!" Mario said while holding the ghost's hands in his own. The ghost smiled and giggled as Mario walked into the middle of the summit. Seven coloured lights appeared around Mario and they flew into the sky soon exploding in a bright light. The ghost smiled and laughed. Mario looked behind him. His precious Peach. He must be with her no matter what. _I love her_ he thought with a smile _I…love her. _A blue concave ship with a star symbol sunk down from the sky. It landed lightly in front of Mario. He and Peach stepped on to it as it rose up but little did they know they had visitors. Two figures clung to the bottom of the ship, unseen by the love-struck Mario and the ghost Peach. "We're here, my sweet." Mario helped Peach out of the ship and the ghost looked around. _Hmm, just a while now, my queen._ Star Way (If I get the name wrong I'm sorry. It's been quite a while since I've played Paper Mario.) is what this area was called. It was a starry road swirling around a celestial light that led to Star Haven. The blue flames called Embers still guarded it but Mario wouldn't stop. "I'll clear these heathens away." Mario told Peach as he held out his two hands. Instantly a powerful stream of darkness emerged from each palm, destroying three Embers in its path. Mario led the way, destroying all the Embers with this powerful move while Peach followed close behind. The two figures who snuck on the ship, Luigi and Goombella watched in awe at Mario's new power. "If we touch that," Luigi gulped, "we'll die instantly."

Goombella gathered some courage. "Luigi, we've got to free your brother from that spell. That's not Peach you know!" She barked. The two charged toward Mario quietly and they were stealthy enough to be able to charge Mario and knock him down as he was killing a retreating pack of scared Embers. Luigi pinned his love-sick brother to the ground with all his strength while Goombella confronted "Peach". Mario seemed limp as he didn't respond to Luigi's move but Luigi couldn't notice as he was frantically pinning Mario with all the strength he could muster. "Hello, Vivian." Goombella said with contempt. "Aw, you ruined the game." Peach said, transforming into Vivian. "Changed your hair colour?" Goombella asked, noting Vivian's change from pink hair to black. Her striped cap was gone but her hair was covering her eyes. "Hmm?" Vivian seemed confused. "Changed my hair? I guess I did." "I don't know what happened to you but I'll knock the sense back into you!" Goombella sharply bonked Vivian on her head only to see it had no effect. "I'm a lot stronger now that I have my memory back. This is the real me" Vivian said. "I'll let that stupid excuse for an attack slide if you'll leave me alone with my precious Mario." She waved a gloved finger in the air and instantly Luigi was severely burned and fell off of Mario. He stood beside Vivian with a dull look on his face.

"He's been completely taken over!" Goombella noted. She looked to Luigi who was now unconscious on the ground, his shirt completely burned off showing signs of deep black burns in his skin. _He could die._ Goombella thought_ Vivian is way more powerful but why is she evil? I thought she was with us!_ _Could it be that…?_ "Mario, take care of this pest." Vivian pointed toward Goombella. Mario raised one hand and shot a powerful stream of black toward the young goomba girl. Goombella still stood after the assault but weakly. "Mario…fight." was all she could say before she collapsed to the ground. Vivian came close to Mario and placed her arm in his. "Let's go, honey." She commanded, laying her head on Mario's shoulder. Together they entered the cloud toward Star Haven.

"Wow." Vivian stared in awe at the beautiful blue transparent houses of the stars. There was also a narrow road paved into the center of the fluffy white cloud that served as the ground. The odd thing was there weren't any stars around but Vivian didn't seem to notice. "Wow, Mario," Vivian was practically drooling over the place. "This would be the best place for our honeymoon!" she swooned. She tugged her oddly silent slave, Mario, to see he was missing! "Mario?" Vivian panicked and looked around the area seeing no sign of the missing Mario. Suddenly, a shooting star was heading straight for her! Vivian used her Veil power to duck under it. The star crashed behind her. "What is this?" she said with surprise. "Were they expecting me?" she whispered in panic. Skolar stood in front of all of Mario's partners from the Paper Mario game and its sequel (except Goombella.). "We were." Skolar said balancing his glasses. "We star spirits saw through your plan and called for a little help." Vivian clenched her teeth in anger then relaxed. "You really wouldn't hurt little ol' me would you?" she said, trying to infatuate the large party with a cute face but she didn't notice Koops and Kooper charging toward her inside their shells. They both hit Vivian straight on and knocked her back. "Ow!" she yelled as she hit the cloud floor. "How did that hurt? I am stronger! It's not supposed to hurt!" she whispered to herself. Koops and Kooper tried to continue their assault but Vivian blocked both of them simultaneously and tried to crush their shells. "This won't help you. Where is Mario?" Vivian said like she was above them. "You look kind of cute when you angry." this sound came from Koops, who now came out of his shell. "Really? You really think so?" Vivian loosened her grip on both Koopas and looked toward Koops with a blush. "Yeah," Kooper started. Vivian's face turned even redder. "Right!" Koops finished as both he and Kooper hopped out of Vivian's weakened grip and charged her to the floor a second time with the same technique. "This is annoying." Vivian said. "Time to fight!" Her hands grew bright with her fiery jinx power but someone squirted them out with a jet of water. "Who did that?" Vivian barked looking toward a smiling Cheep-Cheep, Sushi.

"Hi." it said. Vivian was about to rush toward the Cheep-Cheep in anger but then she suffered a horrible pain on her head then another. The blows forced her to the ground as she covered her head in pain. "Never mess with the best!" a familiar voice said. In front of Vivian landed the two attackers, the small Yoshi who just spoke, and Goombario. Vivian clenched her teeth again and disappeared underground, reappearing under Skolar. "I'll take you out first!" she grinned, thinking she could at least kill Skolar. "Boo!" a lady boo, Bow, appeared from the space where Skolar occupied. Vivian was so shocked she stumbled back and something landed in her hands, Watt. "Hello, Miss Shadow." Watt innocently said. Then she shone brightly, blinding Vivian. Vivian groaned painfully while covering her throbbing eyes and wandering blindly. She couldn't even see what happened next. Parakarry kicked her down to the floor to put her in place for Lakilester's rain of spineys on top of her. "How?" Vivian quietly said as the spineys crashed all over her body. Flurry used her breath to blow a big gust of wind toward Vivian which forced the damaged Shadow Siren into the explosion of Bobbery and Bombette. Vivian was thrown high into the air. _How,_ Vivian was nearing unconsciousness as she thought this, _how did I lose? How was I hurt?_ Vivian's head was now flooding with memories of being a Shadow Siren and adventuring with Mario. _Mario_, she said in her head before her mind faded into blackness, instincts took over the questioning mind. Suddenly, Vivian's limp body became active again as the Shadow Siren dived toward a certain plumber who was now on the scene. No memories, no thoughts, just death. Vivian's hands glowed with fiery jinx, this time Vivian would kill. "Take this!" Mario yelled before he cupped his hands together and forced them above him, toward the beast-like Vivian. A large stream of fire emerged from Mario's hands and engulfed Vivian in mid-air with a fiery blast which lit up the sky with a blinding light. When the light died all trace of the fire disappeared instantly, leaving nothing but the smell of smoke and ashes. "She was an ally. A friend." Mario quietly said, sinking to his knees at what he and his friends had done. _When will the killing end?_ Mario thought as he remembered sweet memories of Peach and Vivian.

Tears welled up in his eyes, Peach committed suicide and Vivian was killed by his own hands. "We had to do what we had to do. She was Vivian no longer." Bobbery said stiffly. Bombette walked closer to Mario and chipped in. "Yeah, she was evil. I'm betting that wasn't the Vivian who helped you in Rogueport." Some sounds came from the united group of partners that now surrounded Mario in a circle. They seemed to agree with what Bombette was saying. "We saw everything," Flurry said, feeling compassionate for Mario. "Actually we heard it from the Star Spirits. They saw the Shadow Queen plotting and called us up here beforehand." she paused, moving closer to Mario. "They granted us with this special power that allowed us to hurt Vivian which was the only way to stop her. We saw she had used Peach to get to you, a dirty trick. Come here, sweetie! You must feel so horrible!" Flurry jumped on top of Mario like a happy puppy and bombarded him with kisses. Mario jokingly pushed her off. There was mixed emotions around the group, happy at this time of peace, sad at the death of two friends and mad at Shadow Queen. Mario got back up to his feet beside a smiling Flurry. "Mario," Goombario stepped forward once the murmuring finished. "We have all decided before you came here in this war against Shadow Queen we would like you to lead us." Mario stood silent at what Goombario had said but right now was no time to be unsure about anything. He was about to nod but the cloud shook and a crack in the cloud went between Mario and Goombario. _The other star spirits!_ Mario thought in panic as he ran frantically toward Star Sanctuary followed by his squad of partners.

"Oh, my g-" Mario couldn't even finish. Where the beautiful Star Sanctuary once lied was a large hole, seemingly a deep hole. "Guh, Guh!" Mario angrily turned to the source of those grunts, Marilyn right beside Bedlam. They were standing on the opposite edge of the hole staring right back at Mario. "Hey, Mario. Looks like you didn't save your world after all. It seems Vivian couldn't beat you and boy am I glad." Bedlam said holding up the Star Rod and walking toward Mario and his speechless crew with Marilyn. "You know why she never killed you when she could have? She had a crush on you! How ridiculous! That's why we have no use for her in the new world order." Bedlam stopped in front of the angered Mario. "You going to save everybody again, plumber?" she taunted. Mario curled up a fist. "Well, two people you could've saved are dead! You can't win this time Mario! You can't be the hero anymore. You're a murderer!" "No-I'm not!" Mario said, scared. Bedlam leaned over his shoulder and whispered. "You've got the blood of Vivian on your hands. Trust me, it feels good to kill, doesn't it?" "No!" Mario swiped at Bedlam with a fist but she easily ducked under the attack. "Adios!" she said while she and Marilyn jumped backwards into the hole. "I won't let you get away!" Mario yelled jumping into the hole. Smack! He hit a cold, hard, cement floor. Nothing was there except corpses of the Star Spirits that stayed in the Sanctuary. Skolar was the only Star Spirit that could actually attack. All other powers would be ineffective against Vivian so Skolar helped Mario's partners fight while the other six broke the spell over Mario and gave him the power to fight. Mario punched the floor, imagining Bedlam's taunting face. _Murderer, Murderer, the blood of Vivian, death_ these phrases rung through his head.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Nintendo! This is the last time I'm saying it.**

**Chapter 3: Escape from horrible deeds! Mario heads to the castle!**

"Heavy." the small Yoshi quietly said to no one in particular. The party was now recovering from their shock. "We've got to help him!" Flurry said with two others, Bombette and Sushi. "No!" Goombario stopped her. He made himself second in command since he was the first ever partner. "Mario should deal with his pain by himself. We may be his allies but we can't always help." "Thanks Goombario." a calm voice emerged from the hole. All the partners focused their attention to Mario who was climbing out of the hole with some effort. "I thank you all for coming." Mario started once he was out of the hole and standing. "But this is where we part ways." "What?" was just about the reaction from the whole group. "But Mario-" Goombario was cut off. "I don't want anymore deaths on my hands. This is going to get dangerous and it'll be faster if I go alone. You guys must know how I feel." Mario said. The group quietly conversed while Mario waited for a response. "Well," Goombario, the spokesperson of the group started. "We agree. You should go this alone. Just remember when you need some help, we're always your partners." Goombario smiled toward Mario who smiled back. "We've got no times for good-byes. So, I'll see you when I see you." Mario said. "Skolar, you got the machine ready?" He yelled into the hole. "Yes, Master Mario." the answer came. Out of the hole popped blue ship like the one before and Skolar was inside. Mario hopped in. "Bury the Star Spirits and please make a monument to acknowledge Vivian." Mario said to his partners. "Let them rest easy." he finished in a lower tone. "Where are you going?" Several partners asked at the same time, Goombario, Flurry, and Watt. "To Princess Peach's Castle!" Mario said as both an answer to them and a command to Skolar who then forced to ship to blast off with light speed. The partners just stared in awe at the speed of the ship as it zoomed toward Star Way. "Well, let's get started." Goombario said. "Where are we going to find a shovel?" Bow said with an attitude. "Uh-" Goombario hesitated.

Mario looked back at Star Haven with a smile. _My friends_, he said in his head. _At least there are still people left I can rely on._ A gloved hand on the edge of the ship took Mario out of his thoughts. "Bro," a voice weakly said. Skolar couldn't notice the voice in the rushing winds around the ship. "Luigi?" Mario said as he pulled his brother up on the ship with some effort. He noticed he was holding an unconscious Goombella in his right arm. "What happened to you?" Mario asked with worry. "Vivian…and You." Luigi coughed. "Forget it bro, just rest." Mario made Luigi sit down and rested Goombella beside him. "I'm okay." Luigi insisted. "I meant that Vivian did this to me and she used you to hurt Goombella." Luigi pointed toward the brutally damaged goomba girl. Mario scowled in anger at the way Vivian had acted and how Bedlam called him a murderer for killing her. "It was all we could do." Mario unconsciously whispered under his breath. "Huh?" Luigi said, hearing Mario. "What are you talking about?" "Nothing." Mario quickly said. "Please continue." "Anyway, she'll be okay. So where are we headed?" Mario smiled at his brother's new strength. Mario always thought Luigi wasn't as brave as he was and would run at the sight of danger but now he's laying his life on the line and wasn't screaming or crying. _I guess people really can change_ Mario thought. "We're headed to Princess Peach's castle." Mario said. "Why?" Luigi asked. "To get the stars." Mario explained. Luigi nodded and looked out into space. Skolar made the ship take a sharp dive. "Whoa!" Mario and Luigi both said this as they grabbed onto an edge. Mario also grabbed Goombella before she flew out of the ship. "With that kind of driving you might be the only person who ever killed the Mario Bros." Mario joked. Skolar still couldn't hear with the immense winds. Stars sparkled around the ship and then a bright light shone, signifying the end of Star Way. "Yeah!" Mario yelled in excitement "Woohoo!" from Luigi. "Shut up!" said Goombella.

"Goombella!" Mario yelled. "You're awake!" "How could anyone not be with you guys yelling and all?" Goombella huffed and then smiled. "I'm very cranky without sleep. What are you guys yelling about?" she finished with a yawn. After filling Goombella and Luigi in at what happened in Star Haven Mario was now serious and stern. Bedlam and Marilyn were on a day's trip to Rogueport on a boat. If Mario could get there before they do, and with the power of the stars, he could ambush them and take back the Star Rod. Mario knew a wish like to bring Shadow Queen a body would take Shadow Queen's power. "Princess Peach's Castle." Skolar announced as he stopped the ship and gently landed it beside Peach's grave. Mario looked at the grave with sorrow and anger. He clenched his fist as well as his teeth. "They're going to pay!" he said. "Calm down, bro." Luigi patted his brother on the shoulder. "Yeah," Goombella hopped up and agreed. "This is no time to get angry. Not when the world is on your shoulders, again." The three stepped out of the ship with Skolar waiting in the ship to zoom off when Mario got the Power Stars. Time was of the essence. Mario walked a few steps forward and looked at the glass painting of Peach above him. From there he held out his hand. A gust of cold wind blew and Luigi, along with Goombella, looked on with anticipation. Skolar also couldn't help but be curious.

"Power Stars, come to me!" Mario yelled. Nothing happened. "I guess it needs something different this time." Mario looked back at his spectators while saying this. "Open sesame!" He yelled, raising his hands in the air. Luigi, Goombella, and Skolar practically dropped in the humiliation. "You moron! Don't you know how to release the stars?" Goombella yelled. "I've never done it before." Mario said, embarrassed. While Luigi and Goombella yelled things we shouldn't hear at Mario, Skolar came out of the ship with a suggestion. "Master Mario what do you know about these stars?" "Well," Mario remembered. "They can give a lot of power and they are the secret treasure of the castle." Luigi and Goombella stopped yelling at Mario once he stopped listening. "That must mean-" Skolar started. "Peach hid them somewhere else!" Mario finished. "But where?" Goombella asked with a huff. "Who would know? Besides Peach I mean." Luigi asked. "Toadsworth." Mario answered. He was already through the door before anyone noticed. "Wait up!" Luigi and Goombella said. "I'll stay behind to watch the ship." Skolar said as he hopped in it. The castle was dark and empty. It lacked the life it once had with Princess Peach. Luigi was a little scared and stayed close to Mario and Goombella. Mario used a "sixth sense" to find the right doors in this castle full of rooms. Finally, after moving from floor to floor he reached Princess Peach's room, where Toadsworth should be staying since he was now king. Mario slowly opened the door to see a sobbing Toadsworth in a rocking chair by Peach's bed. He had a children's book in his hand but it lay unopened. "Toadsworth." Mario wanted to say but Goombella beat him to it. He instantly came out of his trance and wiped his tears.

"Oh, Mario and Luigi!" he said surprised. He hopped out of the chair and walked toward them. "Oh, hello Goombella." Toadsworth said while noticeably looking down toward her. _Oh great,_ she thought. _Even the short guys look down on me._ "Hey Toadsworth, you're not still grieving are you?" Mario asked. Toadsworth simply looked down then perked his head up. "You may not believe this," he started. "but I was the Princess' guardian from even before she was born. You see, I was a toad in the royal army and-"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The history of the princess revealed! Hellfire's devious plot!**

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Around thirty years ago, outside the castle that was to be Princess Peach's, two men were fighting vigorously. One was a toad armed with a spear and the other was a human with a rapier (a type of sword used for thrusting.). The toad thrust his spear toward the man who parried it easily and kicked the toad toward the ground with a swift movement of his leg. "Still a little slow, Toadsworth." the man said with a grin as he thrust his rapier into the ground beside the Toad's head. He looked up with a face that didn't want mercy. "Kill me, _your highness._" the toad said those last two words in contempt. He was a rebel. He was next in line to become king but his parents gave the royalty to some human commoner. "Why must you keep rebelling against me?" the human asked. He was the king and Toadsworth was the last of his family who rebelled. He thought he could take the entire army by himself. "I only make the decisions best for my people." the king took his rapier up from the ground and started to walk toward his castle. Toadsworth clenched his teeth and returned to his feet. His hands tightly gripped around his spear with his heart pounding he charged the king who beat the spear out of his hand with one thrust. "Cool off, Toadsworth!" the king was now impatient. "I am not your enemy!" Toadsworth got his fists up in a fighting position. "Then give us back our land! I'm the only one who still believes!" Toadsworth yelled. "What do you believe?" the king asked. "No one thinks that I took this land by force because I earned it!" Toadsworth had tears in his eyes and charged the king. "It wasn't fair!" He said as he delivered a punch which the king side-stepped. "I was next to take the crown. I had prepared and waited all my life and some human can't take it away from me!" The king was red with anger now. In his rage he stabbed the approaching Toadsworth through the shoulder with his rapier. This stopped the Toad from moving closer.

Toadsworth was enraged as he saw blood emerge from the gash in his shoulder. "How could you be king if all you want is just to rule?" the king said as he threw Toadsworth off his rapier and onto the ground. "You are not best for the Mushroom Kingdom! Everything is peaceful and fine. If you truly had the spirit of a king you would be glad your land is happy and prosperous but all you can think of is taking this land because your parents gave it to me, instead of you! They saw this in your heart and that's why they didn't choose you!" the king yelled. "No! You lie!" Toadsworth said, suddenly getting up and throwing a punch. The king countered the punch with a sharp kick that knocked the toad's head up and threw out some blood. "I was just a humble man, Toadsworth." the king calmly started. "My wife and I just moved here because it was safe and a place to make an honest living. I never wanted to be a king because I already had all I wanted in my wife and our humble life but I was chosen. I didn't take anything that wasn't mine. Your parents saw my honest life compared to your greed and picked me instead." Toadsworth stumbled forward after the kick then regained his balance. "You lie!" he lunged forward but the king tackled him hard. Toadsworth flew down toward the ground and stayed there. The battle had made all his muscles to weak to move.

"Stay there and think, Toadsworth." the king said as he entered his castle, frustrated at the Toad's motivation. _Help the colony or be the only one against it and face inevitable destruction _rung in Toadsworth's head. He closed his eyes and sighed. The next day the king was on his magnificent throne next to that of the queen's. The castle still looked exactly the same with the exception of the silk cushioned thrones with gold arms and backs. A toad in light, metal armour walked into the throne room, abuzz with guests. It was a small party among the nobles but the king was too distracted to enjoy himself. The misguided toad was all he could think about. The queen had also left her throne to enjoy the refreshments. The king sighed and rubbed the arm of his throne. _Why is he so stubborn? A king is supposed to be for the people but is my actions against the?. _"Sire," the guard had already walked up to the king's throne and woke him out of his thoughts. "I have someone who wants to join our army. We tested him and he has exceptional strength." "Sure," the king unenthusiastically said. "Let me see him." Toadsworth walked into the room in a brown cloak but none of it was on top of his head. He parted through the crowd of amazed people and noticeably made his way to the king's throne. "That's the leader of the rebellion!" "Yeah, but now he's all by himself. All his buddies abandoned him!" "I hope the king won't accept this wretch of a toad!" were some of the murmurs from the watching crowd. When Toadsworth made it up to the king's throne the king just smiled. "So you've decided to join, huh?" the king asked smugly. "Don't get too excited." Toadsworth flatly said as he looked away from the king. "Well, welcome to the Royal Army!" the king threw his hands up as he said this. Disbelief went through the watching noble toads and the Queen. The toad in light armour watched emotionlessly by the king's right. Toadsworth lightly smiled.

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Back in the present, Toadsworth continued speaking of his stories of after he joined the royal army. "I didn't accept it at first but I soon took to it like riding a bicycle. The king and I became friends and I really believed he was a better king for the kingdom. It was all peaceful and calm until--"

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Some years later a toad came running into the Queen's chambers. He slammed open the door in haste. The Queen was wearing a lack of attire (she was virtually naked.) and when the Toad came in she covered her body with her red bed sheet. "What is it?" the Queen said embarrassed. "Queen," the Toad said out of breath. "The Koopa kingdom has declared war on us!" The Queen gasped, dropping her bed sheet and revealing her nude body. The toad got a nose bleed and ran off to relay the message to the king. "King!" the messenger burst into the King's chamber while he too was changing. The toad covered his eyes as the king hastily slipped into his royal garments. "So what's the message?" the king laughed awkwardly. "King," the toad said out of breath. "The Koopa kingdom has declared war!" "What?" the king said with disbelief. "I thought were allies!" "What should we do?" the Queen, now fully dressed, ran into the chamber and said this. "What's wrong daddy?" a small voice came from behind the toad. The king and messenger turned around to see a young girl with a pink dress, sleepily rubbing her left eye. "I'm sorry, princess." the king said. "This must be tough especially after yesterday but we're under attack." He turned to the messenger. "You, go forth with a message! I'll write it now!" the king rushed off to his desk and hastily wrote a letter.

"That won't be necessary." a deep voice came from a figure that picked up the young Princess Peach and held three sharp claws to her throat. The king and messenger turned around in fear and disbelief. Before them and now holding the princess was the fearful King of Koopas, beside him was his young son, Bowser. The king looked similar to his son except with blue hair, a blue beard and a scar beneath his right eye, which was covered by an eye patch. Bowser watched gleefully as his father taught him how to rule a kingdom. "Well Bowser, here's a tip. If you kill the rulers of a kingdom you can easily ambush them because they'll be too confused to fight back." The king clenched his teeth as the King of Koopas said this. "Here, my son. Take this princess as a souvenir." He tossed the princess toward the young koopa prince who caught her easily but she started yelling and screaming and kicking. "What are you doing?" The king yelled running for his daughter but the Koopa King punched him down to the floor. "I'm taking your land but the sad thing is you can't live to see it." the Koopa King said. "I've already had a little spat with the Queen and let's just say she really got her head bit off." the king got up and wiped blood from his chin. The Koopa King snapped his fingers and the bloody body of the headless Queen was thrown in front of him by two Koopas. Princess Peach had tears running from her eyes. "Mommy?" she muttered quietly. " I'll send you to an early grave!" the king ran to his desk and picked out his trusty rapier from under it. The Koopa King just smiled as he inhaled deeply. Bowser grinned while holding the princess. "Alright Dad!" Princess Peach was desperately trying to break the grip of Bowser but to no avail. "Daddy!" she yelled. It was all like it happened in slow motion to her.

Her father was gallantly advancing with rapier in hand but the king of Koopas emitted a deadly stream of fire from his mouth, incinerating her father to a fatal state. "Daddy?" Peach said louder than before as the ash black body of her father hit the floor. Memories flashed through her head, sweet memories of peaceful days before. "_Mommy," _Princess remembered. "_I don't want to eat my veggies. Please can I have some cake?" "No." _the Queen replied. "_If you want to be a strong and beautiful leader like me you must eat your veggies." Princess Peach stuck out her tongue and turned to the king. "Daddy, I want some cake." The king was captured by his daughter's hypnotizing cute eyes. "Why yes dear." he said before looking over at the leering, penetrating eyes of the Queen. "I mean," he stumbled over his words. "Eat your veggies, Peach." _"Our mission is done." the King of Koopas said. "Come Bowser. The girl is yours to keep." "I don't think so." a toad said. The king looked behind him to see Toadsworth with teary eyes and his spear ready. "I- I won't let this go on!" he said. The King ignored him. "Come son!" he barked as he started making his way past the toad but a spear at his throat made the king aware of his presence. "Don't be stupid." the king said like he was stating a bargain. Toadsworth pushed the spear even closer to the king's throat. "You'll rue this day you crossed with Hellfire the Koopa King!" the king roared as he broke Toadsworth's spear in half with his sharp claws and continued by slicing the toad through his light armour (like the one the soldier was wearing.), leaving a large, bloody gash on Toadsworth's chest. The toad was knocked to the floor, unconscious. Hellfire laughed as he called his son and with Princess Peach, they left the castle.

"They took Princess Peach as a slave and ruled the Mushroom Kingdom. This happened for twelve years." Toadsworth continued. "While we were under the control of the Koopa King we were tortured and brutally beaten. The gash Hellfire gave me even cut my heart, forcing me out of the army. I had to take things easy or my heart would stop which is why I couldn't help you save the Princess on your adventures. Princess Peach was used by Bowser for chores; she was even raped by that despicable Koopa." "So," Mario noticed. "That's where the seven Koopa children came from." "Even Bowser Jr." Toadsworth chipped back in. "You see for Koopa mating the males take the eggs from the women through…intercourse and they are able to produce a sperm for they egg whenever they wish." "Eww." Goombella shuddered but she already learned this from Sex Ed class. "Anyway, there was a resistance force building up and they were our only hope."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The Retaliation! The Mushroom Kingdom fights back!**

A toad in light red garb with metal shoulder and ankle plates was hiding beside a castle wall. He gestured for more to come to him and suddenly several more toads in the same attire appeared beside him. The leader of the group peered around the edge of the dark wall of an ominous castle. Beyond that lied three koopas in heavy armour. They stood in front of a large door, unmoving. Their eyes constantly scoped their surroundings but they never noticed the squad of toads leering behind the wall to their left. The squad leader narrowed his eyes and magically pulled a shuriken out of thin air. He angled himself beside the wall and made a powerful but subtle throw. The shuriken deeply thrust itself into the neck of the koopa in the middle and the poor turtle slumped against the door while hacking blood. His two other comrades noticed the attack and got into an attacking stance. Suddenly, the group of toads appeared suddenly from mid-air and easily killed the two other koopas in the same method, by attacking the unprotected neck with a shuriken. The other two koopas died in the same way as their partner. The squad leader walked up to the middle koopa, the one first killed and roughly pulled his throwing star out of the koopa's throat. This opened the flow of blood locked in the koopa's neck. "The rebellion has begun…Hellfire." said the squad leader as he scoped the koopa king's castle with a glance. Lightning struck miles away but the deafening sound of thunder caused immediate notice.

"Master," cried a small koopa. He was wearing nothing but the green shell on his back and the intimidating presence of the powerful koopa king on his throne made him shiver. "Master, a rebellion force has penetrated the castle and they'll reach the throne room in a matter of seconds!" "What?" The koopa king barked. "How many?" "5, sir." "You mean to tell me five toads are stronger than my whole army!" the king settled down and chuckled. "No matter. Good riddance to bad rubbish I always say. Get Bowser! He'll take care of them!" "Yes sire." was all the small koopa could say.

The squad of toads saw their goal ahead. Instantly every thought was dropped out of their heads. They were now shinobi, tools for killing and nothing else. They ran toward the throne room door at the end of the hall with cheetah speed until a powerful quake made them jump back in anticipation of a powerful enemy. There, just a couple meters away, stood the koopa prince. He looked just like his older self, even down to the smallest features. "You may have gotten this far but you won't make it past me! I'll make sure your feat is remembered though by eating you whole! Won't that be quite a treat?" said Bowser, overconfident as always. The five ninjas hopped into the air and rained down a hoard of shuriken upon the prince who blew out a powerful stream of fire from his mouth to send them away. The ninjas barely avoided the flame. A burnt shuriken landed beside Bowser who barely flinched. Now back on the ground the squad of ninjas moved their hands quickly into the form of different hand seals. "Kage Buushin no Jutsu!" Instantly in a poof of smoke five clones of each toad appeared. They hopped wildly around Bowser who tried to scratch one of them with his powerful claws, failing miserably because of his slow speed. Finally, the angered prince rotated 360 degrees while breathing fire, incinerating most of the clones. Four of the original ninjas fell to the ground, harshly burned. "What?" Bowser said to himself as he noticed one was missing. "One thousand years of pain!" a voice said behind him. Bowser felt an extremely sharp pain go up his hind quarters and deeply into his anal area. "Ow!" the prince yelled as he flew upwards from the pain. The squad leader could now be seen holding his shuriken with a smile. You couldn't see him smile but the four ninjas sensed it and smiled themselves. Bowser came down on the four ninjas with a stomp. This kicked up a lot of dust from the destroyed bricks and old castle. "Aaah! Help me!" a voice was heard through the dust cloud.

When it cleared, the squad leader could see one of his ninjas struggling under the weight of Bowser's foot. Suddenly, the toad turned into a block of wood that was instantly crushed under Bowser's foot. _What is this? _Bowser thought as he turned his head upward in terror. The ninja he thought he stomped was above him with a kunai, ready to dive onto Bowser's face with a sharp impact. _This is too dangerous! _thought Bowser. _These guys are too skilled! Wait…_ Bower inhaled and breathed a powerful stream of fire toward the ninja who was barely able to escape it by diving out of the way. He somersaulted to where the rest of his group lied once he hit the ground. The squad got into fighting stance as Bowser turned toward them with a grimace. Again, only four ninjas were present. "What is this?" Bowser complained. "One of you is always gone!" "One of us was always gone." said the squad leader. "Stop speaking in riddles." Bowser said. "Tell me the truth." "I feel sorry for you, so I will." said the squad leader. "The fifth ninja was just a shadow clone. The real one had found Princess Peach and escaped to the Mushroom Kingdom with her a long time ago." "What?" Bowser yelled. "That's a lie!" "No." the squad leader calmly said. "Your father left a long time ago too. He left a losing battle." "No!" Bowser barked. "You're trying to trick me!" He charged forward but the four ninjas easily jumped over him. Bowser crashed into the empty throne room. "My father…" he said quietly. "He left me…" Bowser stared at the empty throne with sadness and surprise which then swirled into anger. "No!" he yelled and breathed fire wildly around the place. The ninjas retreated and left to escape the castle. Bowser's rage damaged the castle and left in a dangerous state. It was going to collapse. After the remaining ninjas exited the castle it collapsed in a huge cloud of dust and smoke. Bowser was thought to have died inside the castle.

"Now" Toadsworth said. "This was the end of the story. Bowser was abandoned and no one knows what happened to the Koopa King. Princess Peach returned and helped to rule our kingdom. She never became Queen because she thought of it as respect to still think of her mother and father as the rulers of the kingdom. In our years of peace Bowser gathered an army and rebuilt a castle under our noses. He attacked and that was when-" "When Luigi and I came to the Mushroom Kingdom." Mario finished. Toadsworth nodded. "The five shinobi died right before you came. They were no match for Bowser in that battle." "Toadsworth," Mario started. Toadsworth nodded to show he was paying attention. "That was a nice story but I have no time. Please tell me where the stars are. I need them to-" "I know." Toadsworth raised his hand to tell Mario to stop. "I have them all packed into one." Toadsworth showed Mario a bright star. Its light almost blinded the group before Mario quickly took it in hand and it fused inside his body with a quicker, more intense light. He now wore a wing cap on his head. "I know you are in a rush but please let me teach you one of a shinobi's best techniques: The Kage Buushin no jutsu." Toadsworth begged in a calm way. Mario smiled. "I need every move I can get." he said. The group quickly made their way out of the castle and were now in the cold courtyard. Frigid winds constantly blew and Mario stood a couple feet away from Toadsworth in a ready position. "Okay." Toadsworth tried to divert Mario's attention since time was of the essence. His body was shivering and it seemed Mario's was too. Goombella and Luigi stood a good watching distance away from the two. Skolar was watching from his little star vehicle. "This move was made by A level ninjas and was thought of as forbidden by the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Uzumaki Naruto was thought of as the father of this technique even though he didn't make it. He earned this title by making this forbidden jutsu his signature technique. He died of old age as one of the best Hokage his village had ever seen. Now, this move is started by using the power within you, in this case the stars, to make another solid body of yourself. Just think of-" "Done." Mario quickly said.

Beside him stood a perfect clone of himself. Mario even jokingly punched his clone in the stomach and it didn't disappear in a puff of smoke as it should've. "That was quick." Was all Toadsworth could say. "Toadsworth, the world and Peach's life are in my hands and I have no time to waste." Mario said as he flew into the air. "Skolar, take Goombella and Luigi home! I don't want you guys to slow me down!" Mario commanded. "What?" All three of them said but before Mario could answer he was already gone in the distance of the dawn. _I have little time left. I hope I can make it! _Mario thought as the castle just became a speck in the distance which slowly disappeared. "Time to do the Kage Buushin no Jutsu!" Mario, under the power of the stars, had the ability to do this move without the hand seals. Naruto couldn't even do this! Now a flock of Marios were flying in the sky above the open ocean. Mario had no time to enjoy the sea air though. A large land was coming into the distance. Rogueport. Mario saw a small boat docked in the small harbour he once visited on his quest. Bedlam was already here. The force of her shadow suddenly stopped him in his flight. From 50 feet in the air Mario could see two figures in trench coats hurrying through the streets of Rogueport. One was small and scuttling quickly while the other was behind it, big and slow. Mario dived like a falcon toward the small figure and tackled it into the ground with a huge force. Dust was kicked up and the crowd quickly scattered to a safe distance of behind an object to watch the event. Most of them hid behind houses and cargo boxes, peering over the corners in fright. When the dust cleared eight Marios stood opposing a revealed Bedlam and Marilyn. "Eight Marios?" Bedlam asked herself. "What tomfoolery is this?" "Guh. Guh." Marilyn said. "Well, Bedlam I'm back. I may be a murderer or may not be able to save everybody but I'll try my best and I'll lose when I die." Mario said this as he and his seven clones charged up a bright fireball in their right hands. "You sure never give up, Mario. But the odds are stacked against you." Bedlam said while raising her hands. "Those are my kind of odds." Mario said with a confident smile and the fight begun. The eight Marios scattered and rained down their fireballs and Bedlam sent a powerful blizzard spell to intercept them. The fireballs stood frozen in mid-air and fell to the ground, where they shattered. "Powerful." Mario whispered to himself and then yelled. "Where's the Star Rod?" Bedlam whispered some words and said Mario's name. Instantly the plumber was paralyzed in mid-air. He couldn't move his body one inch.

His clones disappeared in a puff of smoke. "What is this?" Mario said under the strain of this invisible trap. "My spells have increased in power triple-fold from when we met at the Star Sanctuary." Bedlam said with a confident smile. "I have been able to tap into forbidden magic that could utilize your name to my advantage." Suddenly, Mario turned into a puff of smoke and disappeared. "Should've been more specific. He was Mario, too." a voice said behind Bedlam. Mario was there with the Star Rod and an unconscious Marilyn behind him. "I love doing that, having you fight all my clones while I take the Star Rod." Mario flew up into the air with a smile. "You lose. Now to go back to the Star Sanctuary and wished this never happened." Mario was about to zoom into the distance when his body became paralyzed from Bedlam's spell. "I don't think so!" the witch angrily yelled. It seemed the spell was taking its toll on her because she was now out of breath and panting like a dog. She magically removed the Star Rod from Mario's hands and gripped it tightly. "It'll be an hour before the spell can wear off." said Bedlam as she woke her sister up and walked away, soon disappearing under the arch that led to that familiar pipe and to the Thousand-Year Door. "The Earth will be a graveyard by then." Mario said to himself and cursed. How could he be stuck in this spell while the Shadow Queen rules? He couldn't, that's what. "Mario!" Luigi's voice rung in his ears as he struggled with the spell. Mario looked down to see Luigi, Goombella, Skolar, and Toadsworth. "You guys!" Mario called to them. "Go to the Shadow Queen's tomb! Bedlam is already on her way there!" Luigi, Goombella, and Skolar obeyed and they zoomed in the direction Bedlam had just taken. Toadsworth stayed and looked up at Mario. "Need some help?" The mushroom asked. Mario nodded. Toadsworth did some hand signs and placed the palm of his hand up at Mario. A blue stream of light appeared around Mario and entered his body. "Thanks!" Mario zoomed off and had no time to ask what the Toad had done. Toadsworth sighed and decided it would be best if rested at the inn again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Warning! From this chapter on things get a little too romantic!**

**Chapter 6: The ambush! Final hours of Earth and the power of love!**

"Hello, my Queen." Bedlam said and bowed with the Star Rod in hand. "Good job, Bedlam." Shadow Queen said from her stone coffin. "Now wish back the princess. I can't just take any body." "I wish-" "Hold that thought!" Luigi kicked the Star Rod out of Bedlam's hand. "Who's there?" the Shadow Queen demanded because she couldn't see what was going on. "Insolent brats!" Bedlam said. Marilyn grabbed Luigi from behind and held him tight. "Star Shower!" a voice said from the passage the led outside the Shadow Queen's grave. A rain of glowing stars fell upon Marilyn and, in pain, she was forced to drop Luigi. Skolar and Goombella were now on the scene. "Get that Star Rod at all costs!" Luigi commanded. "Try it." Bedlam smiled. All three heroes charged forward. "I'm not a pushover like Vivian!" Bedlam said with confidence as she raised her hands. "The Star Rod will amplify my powers!" Luigi, Skolar, and Goombella became frozen in small glaciers of ice. Their anguished looks of frozen pain gave Bedlam pleasure. "I wish Princess Peach was alive!" Bedlam commanded the stars while still holding her arms up. The star rod glowed and then shattered. It couldn't handle the wish of bringing someone to life. Luckily, Bedlam's desire fuelled it with even more dark power.

"What? Oh no!" a voice said behind the stone coffin. Princess Peach rose from behind it with fright. The stone coffin shook and glowed with dark mist. It entered Peach's chest, and then the princess shook uncontrollably but the power was too much to handle. Peach couldn't hold against it and she transformed. Her fair, healthy skin was turned into dark, unruly fur. Her teeth turned into sharp fangs and her eyes became red, searching for blood. Her dress was destroyed, leaving nothing of the former princess. What stood in her place was a huge dog-like creature. It howled, scaring Bedlam and Vivian. When Shadow Queen first possessed Peach, her powers were weaker so Peach's body was still intact but her power have increased over seven-fold and this is the result. "Thank you, my loyal servants. Come and accept your reward!" Bedlam and Marilyn hesitantly walked over. The Shadow Beast inhaled through its mouth and sucked up it's loyal slaves. "Momma mia!" Mario yelled as he appeared on the scene. "My good friend Mario! Long time, no see! Have you come to try and stop me?" the Shadow Beast asked. Mario nodded nervously and then took control of himself. "Kage Buushin no-ugh!" The Shadow Beast stopped Mario's assault by breathing a large stream of darkness from its mouth. The whole Shadow Castle was destroyed from its power. Everything happened so fast. When Mario could finally open his eyes he was among the rubble of the castle in the middle of the Rogueport Square. His star powers had left him and he was too weak to move. How could he win now? Mario fell into unconsciousness from his despair.

"Mario, Mario." the plumber heard his name being called by a sweet voice. He opened his eyes and saw in front of him, Princess Peach. "Mario, join me." she said with flirting eyes. Mario also saw Luigi, the Star Spirits, and all of his allies frolicking in a field behind the princess. "Yeah." Mario took the princess' hand and they walked together in the fields. Slowly, the clouds above them darkened and thunder rumbled. Mario dismissed it. As long as he was happy with Peach, that was all that mattered. "This is the life." Mario sighed but something was wrong. His voice was higher pitched. He looked at the princess in surprise to see she was about seven years old! Mario looked at himself and saw he was about that age also. He glanced at the fields. Everybody was a now a small child. They all turned toward Mario. "Mario, help us." they repeated with a dull tone. Princess Peach let go of Mario's hand and joined the others in their cryptic chant. "Mario, help us." Then, one by one, they started to fade into darkness. First, Sushi, then Kooper, until the only people left were Mario and the Princess. "Mario, help me." she said as she faded into nothingness. In fright, Mario looked at his own hand and saw it slowly fading away. "No!" He said, defiantly. "I won't be like the others! I'm not helpless! I'll win and save them all!" Mario yelled and he glowed with a bright light.

Mario opened his eyes and flew into the air with a powerful upward take-off. He burst through the pile of debris he was under with anger fuelling his power. He had the power of the stars again. He glanced over the mushroom kingdom. The land was dead and dark. The buildings were nothing but a pile of dust and debris. There was not another soul on this planet, except- "Mario!" the Shadow Beast called out, like it was calling an old friend. Mario turned around to see nothing but air. He looked all around to see where the voice originated. "Down here." Mario looked down and saw the Shadow Queen, not in beast form, looking up at him. It looked like her body was made of soil and forced out of the ground. Upon closer inspection Mario saw this was true. "I was looking for you! From absorbing Bedlam I took her memories. It seems you weren't able to save everybody this time because I ate them! Now that should end your argument with her, shouldn't it?" The Queen smiled when she finished. Mario pointed downward at the Queen's earthen tail with a disgusted look. "Oh yeah." the Queen casually answered. "I've become one with this planet. I'm feeding on its energy right now. I've decided not to absorb or kill you. I'm going to leave you on this barren earth with despair and misery. This is fun, isn't it? I thought I would never destroy your realm! You did well, Mario but not well enough." The Queen was acting like a child in destroying the Mushroom Kingdom and this was ticking Mario off.

He flew high into the air and rained down on the Shadow Queen but he hit nothing but dead soil. The Queen retreated into the ground to dodge his attack! "Darn!" Mario said while spitting out hard dirt. "Just don't try anything, Mario. You can't win." the Queen's voice echoed through the dead kingdom. Suddenly, hands, bare to the bone, emerged from the ground and gripped Mario's limbs tightly, so he couldn't move. Mario tried to fight back in a futile attempt and cried. He couldn't win now. Or could he? "Kage Buushin no jutsu!" Mario called out and instantly thousands upon thousands of Mario clones appeared in a huge puff of smoke. It was a whole army! The clones were able to free Mario from his prison. The wings on his hat started to fade then returned to their regular fullness. "What?" the Shadow Queen yelled in surprise. "I forgot about that move!" Mario couldn't fight her head on and decided to use his brain. Shadow Queen was now fused with the Earth and if Mario could hit the core of the Earth, he would destroy Shadow Queen's hold on it. Mario saw something that helped him with his conclusion. Thank the stars, Shadow Queen had been careless! Peach's body lied below Mario's location in the sky. The army of Marios made a quick dive and landed beside their love. The real Mario bent down beside his princess and stroked some hair out of her face. "I….love you." he whispered. Peach weakly opened her eyes. "Take this." She was barely able to open her palm and give Mario a small star pendant. "I love you too." she said before passing out. The pendant glowed in Mario's hand. A huge cannon made of earth built itself in front of the Mario army.

_Thanks to Peach. I don't need them._ Mario cancelled the jutsu as the cannon charged up. _Thanks to her, I don't need this!_ Mario took off his wing cap and threw it on the ground with a careless swing. He had no power of the stars. The cannon fired a concentrated ball of darkness, enough to kill Mario if he just had the power of the stars right now. The ball enveloped Mario and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "Phew, that was close. I though he was really going to dig to the core of the Earth and release my hold. Better absorb Peach. Just in case." The Shadow Queen appeared behind the unconscious Peach. "Don't touch her." Mario said from the dust cloud. The Shadow Queen gasped in surprise. Mario walked from the cloud as it faded away and came toward the Queen. "Don't touch her or I'll kill you!" He yelled. "How did you survive?" the Queen asked. "I am protecting Peach and the Earth. I have no time for games. Leave this planet, now." Mario replied and he picked up his unconscious princess. The Shadow Queen smiled and Mario noticed. "I should've killed you when I had the chance." she said in a demented way. "I should've but I didn't. I'll still kill you now though! Your little love connection won't be enough to stop me!" The Queen went underground and a powerful tremor started. Mario panicked and looked around for an answer he wouldn't find. "You fought monsters and demons." The Shadow Queen started. "But have you ever fought a whole planet!"

Mario hopped into the air and his cap turned into a wing cap. This was just in time as a hand of earth reached out to drag him to his death. Mario still had Peach in hand. It was too dangerous to leave her behind. "I'll have to go with my original plan. Destroy the core!" Mario whispered to himself and he did the Kage Buushin no jutsu. "Planning to go for my weak spot?" The Shadow Queen's voice echoed. "I think its useless now!" "Why?" Mario called out. "Because I'm this planet is mine!" The Queen replied. "Just think about it! Instead of a demon of darkness I'll be a whole planet of evil." She chuckled. "You won't reach the core."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Mario vs. Shadow Queen! The loyal clones make their move!**

In his head Mario threw this thought away. It was just the Queen being cocky. He knew it would be a sacrifice but he'd have to protect the world by going to the earth's core. "Kage Buushin no jutsu!" Mario called out as he summoned his army once again. "We're at our maximum powers so let's fight!" The Queen's voice echoed. Mario nodded and handed Peach to a clone who flew into a higher area, away from the fight. Instantly, two hands emerged from the planet and reached after Mario, destroying every clone in its path. Mario dodged it easily but they turned around after him. _It's over!_ Mario though as he looked behind him and saw another pair of hands. Suddenly, a clone pushed Mario out of harm's way, taking the blast head-on. It disappeared in a puff of smoke. Mario took control of himself and decided on a game plan. "I've got an idea." Mario finally decided.

He summoned more clones and they spread out and taunted the Queen. "You can't touch me! You call yourself a Queen? More like a pauper!" Mario called out with several clones. In anger the Queen used the same hand attack except she sent out pairs toward each group of clones. Mario ducked under the hands with a small group of clones and cut them from the source with a fireball blast. The other clones took up the dead hands and held them upward where the Queen couldn't reach. The Queen screamed in agony. Mario knew the Queen had lost some mass and now he could dive through her crust easy. He flew upwards at a great speed as to build the energy needed to pierce the Queen's crust. Mario looked down in surprise as the Earth turned black and glowed a black color. Suddenly, a beam came out of it, black as pitch, and hit Mario with a sharp pain. The plumber fell to the ground in defeat. "Nice try." The Queen's voice echoed. She was done toying with Mario and dragged him into her demonic depths with several hands. The clones looked on in surprise. Mario was defeated so easily! He had lost and now the Earth was doomed.

"We still have to fight!" a clone spoke up. The Shadow Queen was ignoring them because she was tormenting Mario deep inside her core. The others looked at this clone in disbelief. "We have to for our master. Don't you want to help him?" Some clones agreed but most thought it was too dangerous. "Come on!" The clone said to the ones who agreed and they flew upward and dived down toward the area Mario tried to target. "I don't think so!" A pair of hands burst out from the earth and destroyed the attacking group of clones. The others looked at the event with sadness and despair. "We can't win." said one of the remaining clones. "She's too powerful." The clones looked down toward the Earth with an angered and surprised look when they saw their master, unconscious and sticking out of the earth like a scarecrow. This was the Shadow Queen's trophy. They looked on in disgust. "This can't go on like this!" a clone begged. "Wait" the clone noticed something on the ground. It sparkled and glowed with a bright light but apparently nobody else noticed. "Hey!" the clone called to the others "Help me get that! I know what it is!" The clones couldn't take anymore of this and agreed. Whatever this led to- death or success- it was better than watching Mario's soul being slowly absorbed by the Queen. All the clones (except the one holding Peach) charged forward. Multiple hands shot out from the ground and destroyed a lot of the group but they persisted. The one who started this movement was nimbly dodging a pair of hands when he reached the object. It was a golden star, the tip of the star rod. Mario had dropped it. "I wish- I wish Mario could defeat the Shadow Q-" The clone was destroyed by a hand slamming itself upon it. The star trinket was thrown in the air and caught by another clone. "I wish Mario could defeat the Shadow Queen!" It said quickly before being destroyed by a pair of hands slamming upon it. The star glowed between the hands and a bright flash appeared. Everyone was blinded, even the Shadow Queen.

"Where am I?" Mario asked while rubbing his sore head. He looked around and saw shooting stars in the distance. He looked down toward the floor which was light blue and strong. Also, the atmosphere was just a shade bluer than the floor. "Mario," Mario looked behind him, prepared for a fight. It was the Millennium Star! Mario got up and asked what was going on. "In the battle against the Shadow Queen, one of your allies wished for you to defeat the Shadow Queen. Of course you know, the Shadow Queen's power excelled far beyond yours, star or not. This is an arena where you will both have equal power and have a chance to defeat the demon." "Where's Peach?" Mario asked. The Millennium Star said nothing but just looked forward. Mario looked in the same direction to see the Shadow Beast, growling in anger. It barked and howled, shaking the whole arena. "Mario, this will be your most important fight ever!" said the Millennium Star. "The fate of Earth is in the hands of the winner!" It floated high above the arena, signalling the beginning of the fight. Mario ran forward with the Shadow Beast doing the same. Mario punched the creature before it bit him in the stomach. Then they jumped backwards and stared each other down. Mario then prepared a fireball and threw it toward the beast and it just swallowed it whole! Then it spit a stream of smoke toward out hero who was now deprived of his sight. "Mario, you were constantly a thorn in my side but this is a fight you cannot win! I will eliminate you once and for all and take the destruction of Earth as my prize!"

Two huge claws swiped at Mario but he jumped backwards to dodge them. Then he fired a fireball in that direction and heard a howl. Direct hit. The smokescreen subsided and Mario was standing above the Shadow Beast who was on the floor in pain. Then it grinned. Mario felt huge pains in him limbs and found there were smaller versions of the Shadow Beast biting down on each limb! Blood gushed out of them like a spring. Mario tried to fight them off but couldn't. "For Peach!" he said and used a fireball to flick them off. Once they were off of Mario they disappeared in a puff of smoke. "I don't have enough energy for a Kage Buushin no jutsu! This battle is going nowhere!" Mario said to himself. "If only I had-" "Wishing for a partner to help you out?" The beast seemed to have read his mind. Mario shook his head and charged the beast, hoping for a lucky punch. He did not get that. The Shadow Beast just clawed him and sent him to the ground.

"This looks hopeless." the Millennium Star said gloomily. "I guess I'll have to find a new planet to orbit around." Mario rolled backwards to avoid another assault. When he got up he was gripping his bleeding ribs. His breaths were shallow and quick like a hunted stag. His eyes reflected the hopelessness in his heart. _How can I win? _He thought. There were no allies or friends to back him up. He had no moves left to fight with. The Shadow Beast had every one of them ready to counter. "I'll just have to think up some new ones." Mario said and he hopped into the air and rained down a storm of fireballs. The Shadow Beast deflected them away with a stream of darkness from its mouth but by the time it was sure there were no threatening fireballs left it had lost Mario from its sight. The beast looked everywhere but didn't find its target. "Behind you!" Mario yelled as he shot a powerful stream of fire into the beast's anal area. It screamed and howled in pain and was thrown to the floor, a couple meters in front of Mario. The beast threw up some blood and began to speak. "Mario, that sneaky blast has burned my innards. I'm going to die but-" the beast suddenly leaped up and slashed Mario across the chest. Before Mario knew what was going on the beast had his heart in its claws. The organ continued to beat and Mario got a little dizzy. "So are you." The beast crushed Mario's heart and laughed. Mario collapsed to the ground, dead. The Shadow Beast also collapsed after its hearty laughter.

Mario got up in a dark room. He looked around then gave up looking for any light. The Earth was doomed. He sat down and begun to cry. He didn't save the kingdom or Peach. He failed at the last minute. "Yo, Mario" said a high pitched voice. Mario knew who that belonged to. "Toad?" Mario looked up with surprise. "Don't give up." said the mushroom. "You can still win." Mario was too angry. "Stop telling me what I can and can't do!" he snapped. "I'm dead! The Shadow Queen killed me!" "Things have been worse." Toadsworth came out of the shadows. "Well, maybe not but you always came through. How are you going to give up without trying?" "Yeah." This came from Luigi. "Go on, bro. Save the day." The dark room started to brighten and everyone Mario ever knew started to appear, cheering him on until finally he saw Peach's smiling face. "Win, Mario."

"I lost." said the Shadow Queen, floating in a dark vacuum. "What is keeping me from destroying this planet?" The answer came to her quickly. "Mario!" she said in rage. "I will not be defeated by a hapless plumber!" She burned in rage. "I've destroyed planets and killed heroes and I will be darned if I lose to a single, stupid plumber!"

In a huge flash of light, everything was as it once had been. Mario was in a fighting stance, his shattered heart in pieces beside him. The Shadow Beast growled after spitting out the last burnt and useless organ from its body. "Their spirits" the Millennium Star said in disbelief. "Are too stubborn to call this fight a draw." "Shadow Queen," Mario started. "This whole time, I've gotten here by my allies and dumb luck. I've always shared the weight of the world with someone else or let it stumble off my shoulders but now I'm taking the whole thing by myself." The beast nodded. "I won't hold back this time. For the first time in my life, I'm going all out!" "One final attack to end it all!" "Let's go!" The two spirits, Mario fuelled by his friends and the Shadow Beast fuelled by her rage, charged at each other. Mario was soon engulfed by fire and the Shadow Beast by darkness. In the collision, the arena shattered and the sky full of shooting stars shattered. The Millennium Star was blinded by the great light the resulted in the final confrontation


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: It's all over.**

Mario stood up and dusted himself off. "Millennium Star!" he called. The star floated up from seemingly nowhere. All that was left of his realm was a dark room and a huge fragment of the shattered arena. "My time on this earth is short. Use the piece of the Star Rod to wish everything as it had been before." He picked up the dead Shadow Beast. "I'm going to seal the Shadow Queen in my body." "What?" said the star. "What will that accomplish?" "Her immense darkness will be cancelled out by the light of my spirit. We will both cease to exist." The Millennium Star knew what Mario had to do. With his last effort, Mario hesitantly placed his lips on the Shadow Beast's for a kiss(Nasty!). After a period of time the beast slowly started to revert back to Princess Peach. After Mario was sure every piece of the Shadow Queen was out of Peach's body and in his he released him self from the kiss. Peach stood erect and almost fully conscious. "What happened?" she dreamily asked. "I'm leaving." Mario said. Peach then got up and asked why. "To protect you." Mario said as he wrapped his arms around Peach. She returned the gesture. "Mario, before you go. I love you. I always have!" Mario nodded and they closed in for one final kiss but Peach felt nothing. She opened her eyes and saw she was hugging air. Mario had disappeared. "He's gone." Peach said with tears in her eyes. The Millennium Star just wiggled his moustache. "Princess," he started. "The wish." He handed her the piece of the Star Rod. Peach took it and held it close to her chest. She kneeled down and wept. "I wish everything returned to normal." she said with tears.

Peach got up and unenthusiastically put on her dress. The Earth was saved. She looked at the window/door that led to the balcony. Still open, but no Bedlam. She sighed and searched underneath her bed. She found the dagger and took it from its sheath. It was as clean as a whistle; there was no bloodstain on it. She looked at it with tears. "None of this ever happened but he is gone. Is there any point in going back to the way things were?" "Princess?" the door creaked open and Toadsworth popped out. "Princess, put that down!" Toadsworth jumped up and took the dagger from Peach. "I wasn't going to do anything Toadsworth." Peach said indifferently and she sat down on the edge of her bed. "Cheer up, princess. It's your birthday!" Toadsworth tried to cheer the princess up. "But where's Mario to say-" "Happy Birthday, Peach!" Toadsworth wanted to say but a familiar voice beat him to it. Mario. The famous plumber in red walked up to his princess. "How?" the princess and her royal advisor said at the same time. "I had some more energy than the Shadow Queen. When both of our energies collided, a bit of mine was left but the Shadow Queen is dead!" The princess got up, so happy she was crying and Mario looked up at her with the same emotion and they kissed.

"Food time!" Mario and Luigi said as the food was served out in front of them at the refreshments table. "This birthday party is going to be awesome!" Luigi yelled. "Yahoo!" "Mario," The brothers looked behind them to see Vivian with Bedlam and Marilyn. "I know we've done some bad stuff, but we were possessed by the Shadow Queen. We've given up reviving her long ago." Marilyn and Bedlam nodded. Mario shook it off. "It happens." He said and returned to the food. Vivian smiled broadly. "Time to eat!" Mario reached a hand out for a slice but suddenly his body was paralyzed! Toadsworth walked up to him. "Master Mario, remember when I helped you out of Bedlam's spell. Well, I just sealed the spell inside your body so I can reuse it at a time like this. It'll wear off by the time Princess Peach has finished her speech and refreshments are allowed to be served. No early snacks!" Toadsworth said. Mario groaned and Luigi was glad it wasn't him. Peach appeared from those huge doors that led to the great hall that led to her room. Everyone thought she looked as elegant as ever. Mario especially took his time to stare as the princess started her speech. "Thank you for coming to my birthday party." she started. "I won't mention the event that happened today but I'd like to thank all of you who helped against the Shadow Queen's assault." Mario saw all of his partners beam with pride and he did the same. The Star Spirits had to return to the Sanctuary and couldn't be at the party. "Also, the Mushroom Kingdom, after years, will have a king and queen." she said, looking noticeably at Mario. He blushed and the spell was released. With a handful of little sausages in his pocket, Mario ran up the stairs to kiss his bride in front of the whole kingdom.

It has been two years since this happened. Now, King Mario Mario and Queen Peach Mario had a little boy named Mario Jr. Luigi left to live in Sarrasaland with Daisy but they still saw each other frequently. The Koopa Kingdom was taken over by the mushrooms with Mario's help and now every koopa in Bowser's army lived in harmony with the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser was now a regular citizen, stripped of his royal title. All of Mario's partners were given medals for their effort and were referred to as the "A" team for war. They all became a legend to the soldiers of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Toadsworth was still royal advisor to the king and queen because they were still a little immature. Mario and Peach lived happily together as king and queen in the Mushroom Kingdom's most peaceful times.


End file.
